WEST CHESTER — The possibility of Saturday parking permit enforcement was delayed Wednesday as Borough Council recommended the item be sent back to the parking committee to get more answers.

In a 4-3 vote, council passed the motion with members Jordan Norley, Stephen Shinn and Chuck Christy the dissenting votes.

The item proposed extending enforcement of residential parking permits to include Saturday in permit area A, located in the southeast quadrant of the borough. This was the second month in a row the item was brought to council, having been sent back to committee last month for information gathering.

“I think this should go back to committee and let us survey some of the residents,” said Councilwoman Cassandra Jones, though she made it clear she was not against the idea.

Both Jones and Norley had conducted surveys in their respective wards prior to the meeting.

“We are the elected representatives of our constituents,” Norley said. “The amount of information that both Cassandra and I have gotten, I haven’t seen anyone else attempt to get that level of information. I don’t believe that level of information is the issue; I believe the issue is the majority of council isn’t interested in pursuing relief to the residents of my ward.”

Norley then asked the item to be removed from the agenda, citing lack of votes from council and for it to be placed on the parking committee agenda in 2014.

Jones said it is not the intention to deny relief, but thought a larger sample of citizens could be beneficial. Norley maintained the survey results supporting Saturday enforcement were a sufficient supplement to give council an idea of the residents’ wishes. He also said the results were somewhat above and beyond what has been used by council to make more influential decisions.

The decision to move the item forward to council came with a 2-1 recommendation from the borough’s parking committee last week with Jones the dissenting vote.

Jones conducted a survey in the west portion of Ward 2, her ward, this weekend. She sent out 15 surveys and received 12 responses, Jones said. Of the responders, 70 percent did not have off-street parking and 62 percent wanted Saturday enforcement.

“The only problem I see with this is we didn’t have time to really go and poll everybody,” Jones said.

Norley, also a committee member, said he surveyed residents in his ward, Ward 4, which incorporates much of Parking Permit Area A. The survey list he used to contact residents did not include students or landlords. Of the more than 70 residents he sent the survey to, Norley said about 41 responded.

Of the responders, 54 percent said they have trouble parking on the weekends, and 61 percent said they would like to see enforcement on the weekend. This number jumped to 83 percent when Norley removed the responders who indicated they also have off-street parking.

Located in the borough’s southeast quadrant, Parking Permit Area A — which incorporates the neighborhoods east of High Street and south of Miner Street — includes many student rental properties. Neighbors and borough officials say there are parking problems on weekends because of an influx of non-permit vehicles arriving for parties.

Currently, parking regulations are enforced from 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday.

“I am thinking about the residents not only in my ward but in other wards,” said Councilman Tom Paxson. “I see the problem that is going to happen ... as far as supporting your ward I think just about everything that has come up to council we have supported because there is a problem there.”

Norley agreed there has been support in the past, but did not see support in this issue.

Another concern of council was how the added restriction in Parking Permit Area A will stress other permitted areas that currently don’t share the same problem, especially across High Street in Parking Permit Area B.

At Tuesday’s work session, residents questioned whether the representation of the survey results was a good enough sampling for council to base a vote.

Joe Norley, a resident of the southeast quadrant of the borough, disagreed.

“There is a major problem in the southeast where it’s a huge party zone, thousands of kids are being driven there,” he said Tuesday. “There is people from all over coming there to park down in the neighborhoods. On a Saturday night there is literally no place to park.”

Other residents said a comprehensive parking plan should be sought out, not just a solution in one ward.

“It’s been the standing policy at least since in the short time I’ve been here, it’s been the standing policy of council to provide relief to residents that request that relief,” Jordan Norley said. “If this ends up affecting Parking Permit Area B we are certainly going to come back and provide relief to them.”

Council members said a comprehensive approach would be nice, though it could cost the borough between $100,000 and $125,000.

The borough established the Residential Parking Permit Program in 1978 to “provide residents with the opportunity to park near their homes without suffering the unreasonable burden of competing for these parking spaces with nonresidential and commercial vehicles parking in the neighborhood,” according to the borough.

West Chester operates designated permit areas A through M and A/B throughout neighborhoods in the borough and has more than 5,000 parking permits sold annually.

In a recent study conducted by West Chester University, residents, non-residents, business owners and employees responded to an opinion survey on the state of parking in the borough.

Of those residents surveyed, 21 percent indicated they use on-street permit parking while 15 percent used free street parking.

Residents who answered the survey who live in a permit zone indicated they are able to find a parking spot almost every time. Those who found parking to be a deterrent to living in the borough cited limited parking spaces and too many cars as reasons.

According to the residents who responded, however, 58 percent indicated they would be opposed to permit zones being enforced on the weekend with another 17 percent unsure.